1. Indian election underway. With over 814 million eligible voters, India’s election is the largest democratic undertaking in history and will take place over a period of five weeks in nine phases—three of which were completed this week. On Thursday, constituencies were at stake in eleven of India’s states and three federally administered territories. India’s Election Commission reported impressive voter turnout in most regions, including over 60 percent turnout in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. The ruling Congress Party is almost certain to lose due to widespread voter disenchantment over its stewardship of the economy, corruption, and governance during the party’s tenure in power. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—India’s main opposition party—is expected to win more than 200 of the 543 seats of Parliament, but the question remains as to which parties Narendra Modi, the BJP’s leader and frontrunner to become India’s next prime minister, will appeal to in order to form a coalition government. Final election results will be announced on May 16.

3. Secretary Hagel wraps up trip to Asia. U.S. secretary of defense Chuck Hagel completed a ten-day trip to Asia this week that included visits to Japan, China, and Mongolia. During the trip, Hagel: met with defense ministers at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii; announced that the United States will send two more Aegis-equipped ships to Japan; was the first foreign official to tour China’s aircraft carrier, the Liaoning; and was gifted a horse in Mongolia, where he sought to deepen U.S.-Mongolia military relations. Predictably, Hagel’s stay in China was contentious at times, with Chinese officials boasting of China’s military prowess and expressing their displeasure at perceived U.S. support for Japan and the Philippines in the East and South China Seas.